In The Morning
by Orange-Moon-Goddess
Summary: Fluffish. All dreams end when the sun comes up to start the day. That includes nightmares. And at the table, where they eat breakfast, Cross and Allen get around to discussing some things around their orange juice and coffee.


Fluff :D

Listen to: "Carolina In The Morning- Trocadero" while reading. Listen to it until you finish the chapter- put in on repeat or whatever works. If you don't have it, then you can listen to it on a video on Youtube. Ignore whatever else is on the video and just listen to the song :) It's the sweetest song I've ever heard ;_; This entire chapter was inspired by that song ^^

Also, there's a reference to "101 Failed Attempts at Escaping From Cross Marian." You'll see. (Warning for some OOC ahead)

._.

"Master, wake up."

Cross groaned and rolled over in bed, pulling his covers over him while he slowly came to. He opened his eyes and glared at the pillow in his face, sighed and rolled over again to lay on his back. The sheets over him did little to nothing to stop the sun's light, causing him to deepen his glare and resign in his attempt to sleep for a little longer. It didn't help that he had had another one of those dreams, and it certainly didn't help that the cause of those dreams was in the room with him.

Reluctantly, Cross threw the covers off of him but the "oompf" that came from this action made him pause. He rubbed his eyes and sat up to see what had happened to Allen, and saw that the idiot had been knocked down by the heavy sheets. With a sigh, Cross got out of bed and went to find his day clothes. Allen complained about something or another as he removed the sheets from his face. He must have wanted to jump on him to get him awake, or tear off the covers and force him to look at the sunlight.

Something like that, Cross thought tiredly. In the background, Allen left the room having already changed, and Cross hurried to follow after him. After having those kinds of dreams, the ones where Allen left him to live some other life, Cross always felt unnerved as unrealistic as those situations were. It was like he was afraid Allen would pack up and leave one day, when Cross was supposed to be watching over him. He felt better just by having Allen nearby him on these days.

He continued to muse over this as he entered after Allen in the kitchen for breakfast. It wasn't like he was scared Allen would leave, just worried. And it wasn't like he cared _just _because watching over the brat was part of his job…

"Master, eggs over easy?"

"… Yeah. Black coffee, too."

Allen opened the refrigerator and took out the egg carton. He set it on the counter next to the stove, opening the container for three eggs. He looked up to the golden golem that had wandered into the kitchen, and smiled.

"Tim, do you want me to cook one for you too?" Allen held out one of the three eggs and the golem swooped down to steal it. Tim opened his mouth and swallowed it, shell included. Allen smiled at Tim's antics and kneeled down to get the pan to fry the other two eggs.

Soon enough, the eggs were cooking and the coffee was brewing in the pot. Cross grabbed for the newspaper lying out across the kitchen table's top and opened it to read the recent stories. Something about…a runaway. With a swear, Cross turned the page. He didn't want to remember that dream, and the newspaper wasn't helping.

Unfortunately Allen caught onto Cross's agitation and looked away from the food for a moment to talk. "Everything okay, master?"

Telling Allen the truth was out of the option. While he was sure Allen would appreciate him being straight-forward, Cross didn't want to admit how he really felt. It was a pride sort of thing. He was a man, damn it, he couldn't let those sort of things show.

But for some reason he came clean about it anyways.

"I had another one of those dreams," Cross admitted before he could stop himself. "It's the fifth time this week, twelfth one this month," he went on. "It's one after another, and it's getting on my nerves."

In the past Cross had mentioned "those dreams" but he had never told Allen what they were about. Allen never asked, didn't even know he had to do with them, but he at least understood that they were upsetting. Usually Allen would tell Cross about his own nightmares so he wouldn't feel like the only one suffering, but Allen's nightmares were far different from Cross's own.

As predicted, Allen went for the comforting approach.

"So you're getting them more frequently," he leaned against the wall and folded his arms. Cross looked at Allen to respond and saw how tired he was, with dark circles and bags under his eyes. It looked like he really wasn't the only one at unease. Cross forced himself to focus on what Allen was saying. Not now. "- and I was the only one, so, yeah… I was pretty upset about that. I know it was only a dream, but I can't help but be nervous.

"They say that dreams prepare us for the next day, put us through stressful situations so we can be ready for any kind of encounter while we rest," Allen went on. He wasn't even focused either, just talking to himself and staring off into nowhere. "Makes sense to me."

Cross glanced at the newspaper and held it before him with one hand. Lazily, he tossed the paper into the recycling bin and put his head down on the table. Right now he felt terrible. He just wanted his damn food, not some deep conversation like Allen was trying to get him into.

"What was your dream about?"

"…"

"Oh, the eggs are ready. Hold on." There were a few scraping noises and the sound of Allen getting out the plates for their food. Cross peeked out at Allen and grunted his thanks when his plate was set before him.

Eggs, sausage, and toast.

Their usual breakfast.

"Black coffee, right?" Allen gently put down the mug before his master and handed him his utensils. Cross took the fork and stabbed at the egg angrily. His apprentice stood there for a few moments and Cross watched out of the corner of his eye while he went to get his own plate.

"You usually don't drink coffee at all," Allen commented as he sat down across from him. He happily started his meal, and Cross wondered how the hell he could be so cheerful after having a nightmare. Allen continued his chatter. "Usually you tell me to get you wine or something, but that dream of yours must have been pretty bad for you to make you break your routine."

Part of why he was concerned that Allen would run away was because of his drinking habits. Allen had expressed his frustration over being the one to deal with Cross's debts, and as they grew, Cross was actually worried Allen would rebel and run off. He didn't, though. Like an idiot, he stuck with him.

Recently he had been thinking of dropping some of his habits. Rather than drinking wine in the morning, he wanted to substitute it with coffee. Cigarettes with toothpicks. Women with… well, nothing really. It'd be better for him to stick to one woman, but that was impossible seeing as how they traveled so frequently. Oh, and his gambling addiction. He could swap that with skydiving or anything with risk, really.

"I won't ask what's wrong if you don't want me to," Allen dabbed at his mouth with a napkin before speaking and set it down on his finished plate. "But if you need to talk, I'll always be there."

Cross wondered about that. _Would_ Allen always be around? Not forever, because everyone died at some point, but… would he be around just to see or talk too? He sipped from his coffee mug and grimaced; it was bitter, but he didn't care so much about that.

"Allen, where would you be if I hadn't found you back then?" Cross asked. He was just stalling for time, but he genuinely wanted to know what Allen thought. He wanted to know what Allen really wanted to do if… if Mana hadn't passed away…

"I'd be dead."

Cross's head snapped up to look at Allen's serious expression, silver eyes showing an expression he couldn't read.

"What do you mean?" he demanded. "I know you'd lost it after he died, but you would have snapped out of it."

Allen shook his head. "It's part of grief, master. Once you lose someone in your life, things just aren't the same. Sure, I could have normalized on my own, but I wouldn't have been the same, you know?" He stood up to clean his dish, leaving his glass of orange juice behind.

That's weird; Allen hated orange juice.

"If you hadn't come along to help me through that, I would have probably killed myself and that would have been the end of me." Water rushed from the sink and Allen began to scrub at his plate and the others that had built up.

Dishwashing wasn't even his chore.

"That's all there is too it. If you hadn't found me, I'd be long gone, simple as that." Allen placed the wet dishes on the rack to dry, and turned off the sink. The water stopped but the sound of the water dropping against the metal below was irritating. Almost as irritating as what Allen had just said.

"You don't know that," Cross frowned at his apprentice. "Anything could have happened. You could have gotten over it and moved on. Found a family or gotten some job, anything really."

Allen returned to the table and sat down, hands reaching for the glass of orange juice in front of him. He shrugged. "That's a possibility. But at any rate, I'm grateful that you did find me."

"Are you sure?" He would have thought Allen would have hated him rather than being grateful, but Allen was an idiot and that would always be that.

"Of course," Allen stared at the orange through the glass and seemed almost hesitant to take a sip. He grimaced at the taste and set it back down. "Ugh, bitter. I wonder if it went bad."

Cross glanced at his own mug of coffee. He'd chosen it because he wanted to change his habit. He didn't like coffee, but it was better than nothing. Was Allen doing something along those lines?

"Why are you drinking it, then?" Cross asked. "You don't like orange juice."

"You don't like coffee," Allen countered, "but that's not stopping you."

_I'm guessing this has to do with his nightmare. _"You told me I shouldn't drink alcohol this early in the morning."

Allen blinked and his face softened at Cross's defensive statement. He blushed and looked away, but when he remade eye contact, he seemed extremely embarrassed.

"So?" Cross pressed. "What about you?"

"… I'm drinking it because you said I needed the vitamins."

"Ah. So we're both idiots then," Cross rolled his eyes and finished his plate. He pushed it to the side so they could keep talking. "I'll clean that later." Quickly, he thought back to what Allen had said earlier. Normally he spoke about loneliness in his nightmares, and Cross hadn't exactly been listening, but he was pretty sure he'd be fine anyways. "About your dreams, though. That's why I brought up the whole what-would-you-do thing."

"Yeah?" He tiredly laid his head down on his crossed arms, closing his eyes momentarily.

"Well, you don't have the _chance _to make friends when we're traveling like this. Your dreams are always about being lonely, so I was wondering if…" he trailed off, unsure of how to approach the subject and link it back to himself. "Were you thinking about running away?"

"No," Allen answered simply.

At that moment Cross found himself able to relax. Allen's answer was as clear as black and white. There was no middle ground, no grey. Just a simple "no."

He didn't realize he'd let out a sigh of relief until Allen mentioned it.

"Master, could that have been what your nightmares have been about?" he questioned and Cross swore.

"Yeah. They were."

Allen smiled.

"We really are idiots."

Cross lightly punched Allen on the head. "Don't call me that, idiot."

Allen's smile grew brighter and he finished his glass of orange juice, wincing at the taste but finishing it regardless. Cross emptied his coffee mug and stood after him, secretly glad that they'd had their little talk.

"So what are we doing today?" Allen asked.

He left his empty glass of orange juice on the table.

"… eh, fuck it. Let's just stay here and watch some damn TV."

Cross abandoned his coffee mug in the kitchen along with his plate.

"Yeah. Nothing's going on today anyways."

He led Allen into the living room with Tim trailing behind them. To piss Allen off, Cross laid down on the couch and didn't leave any room for his idiot. Allen folded his arms and raised his eyebrows as if to say "really?" but then grinned and shoved Cross aside to sit next to him.

They thought about fighting over the remote, but neither of their hands would move to pick it up. Allen scooted closer to his master with his knees up to his chest, feet barely off the edge of their couch. Cross let him come closer, while Timcanpy settled down on the small space between them. The golem took the remote and turned on the TV, but they weren't really even watching it.

He glanced at the figure of his apprentice beside him, thought back to their discussion, and made up his mind. He put his arm around Allen, who said nothing against this action, rather he smiled and kept quiet.

The solution to their nightmares was so simple: All Cross had to do was put his arm around Allen, to tell him he wasn't alone, and for Cross, to keep his apprentice close to him. Simple.

"Promise me you won't run off like an idiot," Cross requested during the commercial break.

"If I run off, I'll be all alone," Allen poked his master's face. "I wouldn't do something stupid like that."

"Good."

"… you… won't leave either, right?" Commercial break ended but Cross looked at Allen anyways.

"Never. Even if you want me to, I won't."

_Not just because it's my job, either._

"Alright, I trust you."

"You won't ever tell anyone about this, though, right?" Cross was worried about his reputation. If this leaked out, he'd be in trouble.

"Nah," Allen shook his head with his smile still on his face. "Now be quiet- I want to hear what they're saying on screen."

Cross glared.

"I'm the one who tells the other to shut up. You do your chores, I'll do mine."

It wasn't really a chore… but Cross didn't care.

Neither did Allen.

"Whatever you say, master."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

And then:

"I hope things will stay like this, master."

Cross nodded in agreement.

"… That'd be nice."

._.

I really needed to make fluff ;_; I'm sorry.

And oh god, if only they knew o.o I feel bad now, lol xD


End file.
